Cerakote Questions

[morrisey0]

I was kinda surprised that through a search for Cerakote, I only found 16 results. So I was wondering if there is more out there that maybe haven't posted about, or maybe there is more hidden out there.

This is one of my things about gold pans. I love "the gold" for the nostalgia, but not for "the gold" itself. Like, if you walked into your local LHS in 1988 and said, "I would to purchase an RC10 aluminum pan please," and the guy behind the counter said, "what color? We have red, black, blue, and gold?" Would you have really walked out with a gold one?

So, I have a runner gold pan, and a mint gold pan (although a rere), and to be honest, that is probably all the gold pans I want / need. I have a bare aluminum pan, and to honest, I like it aesthetically more than the gold pans. Does it bring me the nostalgia smile? No. Do I like it more overall chassis wise? Yes

Wow, three paragraphs in and haven't begun to touch the subject matter. So, basically my point is that I want to go into more colors for aluminum pan RC10s. I experimented with black powder-coating, and it was ~90% successful, and I thought I would continue down that path the next time I got into an RC10. I have some blue PC powder sitting around, and I kinda want to go with, but although my PC came out pretty well, I didn't love the texture.

side note: I guess it isn't phonetically correct to say "an RC10," but "a RC10" just sounds wrong to me for some reason, so I just ran an. We can make up our own rules these days anyway. This is coming from a guy that uses "kinda" on a daily basis, even company emails.

So, I have had this plan of home anodizing in my head for quite some time, and have started collecting parts to make it happen, but after serious consideration over the past few days, I am chucking the idea. I have concluded that it can certainly be done well on smaller parts, but a 12.5"x5.5"x~1" aluminum pan is too big / awkward for a DIY setup. You can almost get away with 5-gallon bucket dipping tanks, but you have to fill them to almost the top. If you switch to 7-gallon round or 5.3-gallon rectangle buckets, the cost sky-rockets. Then you really need a SS pot for the final sealing / boiling. Then you need a means of maintaining heat during the dyeing process. Then you have to fill all these vessels with the large amounts of water / chemicals / dyes needed. And when it is all said and done, you have to be able to store all of this unless you plan to toss it and start over the next time around. Unless convinced otherwise, I am throwing out DIY anodizing for parts the size of an RC10 tub. I just feel like I would have $300-500 in the complete set up and materials, and that would be for probably one color, and again, when done with first chassis, I need way too much square footage to store this stuff away.

And yep, still not to the subject matter.

So, I haven't heard much about Cerakoting in the past, but it has been coming up in my searches of anodizing. I had a couple of hours today to do research (i.e. watch youtube videos) on the subject, and I am liking what I am seeing. To me, it looks like PC'ing just with a more paint like base. And the best part is that I have a blasting cabinet (new one is 90% complete and been sitting like that for 2-3 years), and I have an oven set up that will hold an aluminum tub. I like the idea of it going on super thin, so I think I would like the texture better than the PC. I also believe it should be much more resistant to scratching than the PC. From their website, it looks like the sky is almost the limit when it comes to color choices.

So, anyone want to add to the subject of Cerakoting? I am going back and forth on one of their $200 H starter kits or just getting a couple of colors I like + catalyst and a HFT HVLP gun. I already have an airbrush which many people recommend, but I think the tub is too big to attack it with a brush.

Yep, long post for like two questions!

[klavy69]

cerakoting has been kinda popular in the 2A realm for a little while now. A guy who built some of my rifles checked into it and started off with a 'starter' kit...which snowballed into some major $$ for him with inconsistant results. In the end he now sends most of his stuff out to get done. He found out like in your powder coating situation that it added up quicker than he thought and then the total outlook was him not wanting to get too 'into the deep end' with 4 major shops near us that already do the cerakoting cheaper than he could do it in the long run.

If you have any gun stores close you could check to see if they would do a special run for you or let us know how it works out in the end.

Todd

p.s. I do like the cerakote finish over a powder coat finish so understand the relevance of your 'wants'

[Elkcycles]

I have had multiple bicycle frames Cerakoted over the past few years. The results are durable and the matte finish is aesthetically pleasing. I have never used it on RC, having always done powder coat in the past, but the thinner and more scratch resistant finish appeals to me as well. My local powder coating outfit will Cerakote a bicycle frame for ~$150 including preparation, and smaller parts running in a single color batch would likely run less than $100.

My vote would be for a professional coater or 2A outfit to do it instead, because the finish is a bit more difficult to remove if you make a mistake. Additionally, they will have color swatches and finished samples available. As an added bonus, you could add your parts in to an existing color run and save some additional money as well.